MilConsumer Blog Feed

The clock is ticking, and you’re on the hook to find just the right gift this holiday season. Perhaps you’re shopping at the last minute; maybe the giftee is really picky; or, if you’re like I am, maybe you just don’t feel like dealing with wrapping paper! Regardless, a gift card or certificate may seem like a great solution: it’s a quick buy for you and it presents plenty of options for that person on your list. Take your pick: choose among traditional gift cards from retailers and restaurants, bank gift cards that can be used anywhere the brand is accepted, e-gift cards, and certificates from promotional coupon sites. As you go shopping for gift cards, remember to read the fine print before you buy. Yeah, time is precious and you may not have enough of it to read the details, but there are a few important things to look for:

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, you may be thinking about donating to your favorite charities. This time of year also brings more attention to our deployed personnel, their families living stateside and our veterans. Lots of folks wonder how they can support the troops. Many organizations tout themselves as a way to give back to those who serve. But not all charities are legitimate – some are out to make a buck for themselves. Some spend more money paying their fundraisers than supporting the military community. Here are a few things you can do to prevent shady groups from cashing in on the cachet of the military .

Imagine this: You’re at home one evening when a sudden storm knocks out your power. You reach for that flashlight you keep in the kitchen drawer just for emergencies. You flip the switch, and the flashlight asks for your location. That would be weird, huh? Well, that could be exactly what’s happening — on your phone.

Veterans should be aware of a marketing scam targeting callers trying to reach the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Call Center or GI Bill Call Center. A marketing company has established two fraudulent numbers that differ from the two official VA call center numbers by one digit. If the fraudulent number is dialed by mistake, the answering party will offer a gift card and try to obtain personal and financial information, including credit card information, from the caller. The answering party may even transfer the caller to the VA after the caller’s information is obtained.

The FTC’s mission is to protect consumers. And one group of consumers who can face specific kinds of challenges? Our military community. For many young servicemembers, time in the service is their first full-time job. Military families may move around regularly as they change duty stations. In 2012, the FTC received 42,200 fraud complaints from the military community. The top complaint categories were: debt collection, imposter scams, fraud involving prize offers, sweepstakes or gifts, unlawful banking or lending practices, and scams that offer mortgage foreclosure relief or debt management services.

Veterans Day is a special time to honor all those who have served our country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 22 million veterans live in the U.S. today. And yet, for all the grateful Americans who celebrate these heroes, there are scammers trying to take advantage of veterans and current servicemembers. The FTC’s Consumer Center has loads of information to help veterans and their families fight back against fraudsters.

You can rent a movie, a car, furniture or electronics of various kinds. And now, you can rent tires. You read it right: rental tires. They are, it turns out, a growing business. The price of rubber is going up, which means tires are more and more expensive. That’s where these tire rental places come in. Their marketing says: if you depend on your car to get to work, but you can’t afford to buy four tires, rent them instead.

You’ve served the nation and maybe you’re thinking about heading back to school to start the next chapter of your career. Colleges are there to help you, right? Hmm, not so fast. Not every school has got your back. Some for-profit schools may care more about boosting their bottom line with your VA education benefits. Some may even stretch the truth to persuade you to enroll, either by pressuring you to sign up for courses that don’t suit your needs or to take out loans that will be a challenge to pay off. In 2010, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) said that 70% of the agency’s current fraud investigations were focused on for-profit schools. Ask some key questions before you make any decisions.

Phantom debts – sounds a little like a ghostly Halloween prank. Unfortunately, it’s no joke. Some fake debt collectors may try deception and threats to pressure you to pay debts that you don’t owe. The FTC recently settled a case with debt collectors, Pinnacle Payment Services, Lisa Jeter, her partners and related companies about just these kinds of practices. Imagine getting a phone message like this: This is the Civil Investigations Unit. We are contacting you in regards to a complaint being filed against you, pursuant to claim and affidavit number D00D-2932, where you have been named a respondent in a court action and must appear… Please forward this information to your attorney in that the order to show cause contains a restraining order. You or your attorney will have 24 to 48 hours to oppose this matter… Call 757-301-4745. Who wouldn’t be spooked? The FTC has gotten almost 3,000 complaints about messages like this.

When it comes to tricking you out of your money, for scammers it’s Halloween all year long. In 2011, an estimated 25.6 million adults (10.8 percent of the U.S. adult population) were victims of fraud. Consumer scams can take many different forms, from direct marketing to affinity scams and involve everything from identity theft to pension poaching. However, there are a few general tell-tale signs that you can look for if you’re trying to decide if a financial product or service you’re being offered is a scammer’s trick or a financial treat.